WDAE AM 1250 history On December 1, 1921, the U.S. Department of Commerce, which regulated radio at this time, adopted the first regulations formally establishing a broadcasting station category, which set aside the wavelength of 360 meters (833 kHz) for entertainment broadcasts, and 485 meters (619 kHz) for market and weather reports. On May 15, 1922, the
Tampa Times, an afternoon daily newspaper, was issued a license for operation on both the 365 and 485-meter wavelengths. The call sign, WDAE, was randomly assigned from a sequential roster of available call letters. WDAE was the second Florida broadcasting station licensed under the new regulations, following
WCAN in
Jacksonville, which was authorized seven days earlier, and, after a series of test transmissions, made its formal debut on May 17. WCAN was deleted on October 26, 1922. (Some sources have listed
WQAM in Miami as Florida's oldest station, with varying claims of a history dating back to as early as 1920, however FCC records report WQAM's "Date First Licensed" as January 23, 1923.) WDAE, as most early radio stations, broadcast on several frequencies during its beginning years, settling on
AM 1250 by 1941. In 1947, still owned by the newspaper, it added an FM station, 105.7 WDAE-FM (now
WMTX 100.7 FM). Through the 1940s and 50s, WDAE-AM-FM were
CBS Radio Network affiliates, carrying its dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and
big band remotes during the
Golden Age of Radio. In the late 1960s, WDAE-FM switched to
beautiful music, while the AM station was a popular
Top 40 station. WDAE aired the popular talk show "Desperate & Dateless" on Friday nights with host Rosemary Haddad and producer Sam Cardinale. In the 1980s, as Top 40 listening switched to FM, WDAE changed to an
oldies format. By the 1990s, it had moved to
adult standards and later began simulcasting the
adult contemporary music format of co-owned WUSA (100.7 FM, now
WMTX) in November 1990. In March 1994, WDAE switched to
classic country as "Country Gold Froggy 1250" with former WUSA personalities whose on-air names became I.B. Green, Jimmy Hoppa and Davey Croakett. In 1999, the station was acquired by Clear Channel Communications, the previous name of current owner
iHeartMedia. Clear Channel switched WDAE to its current all-sports format as "The Sports Animal."
WSUN AM 620 history On November 1, 1927, WSUN first signed on the air. For most of its early history, it was operated as a
municipal service of the city of St. Petersburg. WSUN used the first directional AM antenna system in the U.S., implemented to protect and cooperate with
WTMJ in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, also on 620 kHz. In its early years, WSUN was an
ABC Radio affiliate, carrying the network's schedule until the 1960s, when it moved to a
full service middle of the road music format. The city sold the station in the mid-60s due to network and programming complications with WSUN's
sister television station which had been established in 1953. Through the 1970s and 80s, WSUN aired
country music. It was owned by Plough Broadcasting, a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical firm
Schering-Plough. In 1988,
Cox Broadcasting acquired WSUN and switched it to
talk and later to 1950s-based
adult standards. In 1998, pending a sale, WSUN began simulcasting the audio from local cable news service "
Bay News 9," changing the call letters of AM 620 to WSAA. Cox Broadcasting moved the WSUN call letters and its standards format over to its co-owned station on
AM 910 in nearby
Plant City, Florida (now
WTWD).
WDAE moves to 620 On New Year's Day 2000, three Tampa Bay radio stations, including WDAE, were involved in a frequency swap. WSUN had previously vacated AM 620, moving to AM 910. WDAE and its sports format moved from 1250 to 620. Business-formatted
WHNZ, which Clear Channel had acquired from
Paxson Communications in 1998, switched from
AM 570 to WDAE's previous home at 1250. In addition, Clear Channel put a
news/talk format on AM 570, changing the call letters to WTBN, which stood for "Tampa Bay News".
Salem Communications acquired WTBN the following year, installing a
Christian radio format. In late 2012, WDAE became the Tampa Bay home of
ESPN Radio, as rival sports station
WHBO (1040 AM) switched affiliation to the
NBC Sports Radio Network. In 2024, ESPN programming left WDAE. It began carrying shows from
Fox Sports Radio most hours, except for a local wake up show and afternoon
drive time program.
WTMP picked up ESPN programming. On November 28, 2018, WDAE rebranded as "95.3 WDAE", using its
FM translator in its branding.
Sports team associations WDAE is the
flagship station for the
Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. It is also the Tampa Bay home of
South Florida Bulls football and
Florida Gators men's basketball games. Each year, WDAE carries the
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg auto race. The station had been the flagship station for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers football. Beginning with the 2017 season, the team's broadcasts move to co-owned
active rock station 97.9 FM
WXTB. WDAE continues to air interviews with players and coaches during game weeks. WDAE had also been the flagship radio station for the
Tampa Bay Lightning of the
National Hockey League (which is now on WHPT). WDAE had also broadcast the
Tampa Bay Storm of the
Arena Football League (later heard on sister station
WHNZ).
Move to 95.7 FM On February 13, 2026, iHeartMedia announced that WDAE's FM simulcast would move from the 95.3 translator to
WRUB (95.7 FM), with a call letter change to
WDAE-FM, on February 23, with 95.3 taking on WRUB's previous "Rumba" programming. ==References==